Region Free For Tobshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD ROM

[soonkiong]

I currently have a Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD ROM which is locked to region 3. I had made it to be region free by applying the firmware for this DVD ROM and checked that the rom is region free using Drive Region Info v2.1. However, when I played the DVD using WinDVD v3.1, I still being asked to enter the region code.

Does the flashing of the firmware for the DVD ROM really prevent WinDVD from asking me to enter the region code when I play the DVD?

Do I need to use the DVD Genie to reset the region counter of the software player as to make it also region free?

Do I need to make the DVD ROM as well as the software player both region free?

[joegib]

Flashing the firmware is only half the job. You also need to defeat region-protection in your software player. DVD Genie does just that -- or Region Killer is a good alternative.

[Alexey2002]

Where I can find the patch to defeat the region zone of
my DVD-ROM of the same model?

[joegib]

Here:

http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/

[Alexey2002]

Thanks.

But how can I know what from this patches is mine ?

[Axemaster]

Patched firmware update for Toshiba SD-M1612 crashes!

Hi,

I downloaded the Patched firmware from the site above for RevA, (both ones) and when i run either of the update.bat files, it starts a window and then suddenly crashes. Can anybody offer an explanation for this?

Thanks.

[joegib]

Re: Patched firmware update for Toshiba SD-M1612 crashes!

Originally posted by Axemaster
Hi,

it starts a window and then suddenly crashes.

Thanks.

Sounds like you are trying to do this within Windows. You must use a DOS boot disk for flashing or you'll kill the drive. Also, make sure you read the entry for your drive on the Firmware Page thoroughly. Not doing that is another way to kill the drive.

[Axemaster]

Firmware update

hi,

thanks, but that leads to a bit of a noobie question,
how to i boot to there from windows xp?

thanks.

p.s. i just checked and thank god i didn't kill my drive [phew]

[dvdhackmaster]

You can use PowerDVD to run the DVD for several minutes , then play i t . If it still doesn't work , you could ask the manufacturer for help but you only have five times to change the region code then it will be locked only working for the last region code .

[joegib]

Axemaster:

You can create a DOS boot disk in XP using the "Format" dialog. Put a blank floppy in your drive, right-click on the drive icon and select Format. When the dialog opens check the option "Create an MS-DOS Startup disk". To turn this into a minimal boot disk — the best type for flashing — delete all files on the floppy except COMMAND.COM, MSDOS.SYS and IO.SYS.

To flash this drive you need to establish the current firmware version and its date. You can do this with the utility CDVDInfo which you can get here:

http://www.cdvdinfo.subnet.dk/

Then check on the Firmware Page what patched version is appropriate for your drive. Unzip the firmware file/flash utility to the floppy. Check the floppy using Windows tools. Reboot after setting your BIOS to boot from floppy and carry out the flash. Afterwards, check that the drive is region-free using CDVDInfo. Flashing the drive is only half the job — you also have to overcome region protection in your software player. For that you should use Region Killer.

[Axemaster]

Region Protection Defated!

Thanks, joegib.

I did as instructed and it worked a treat. Drive Info now says "no region protection"
There was one small inconvenience, tho.
The drive now does not run WinDVD automatically when a dvd is inserted, but it does bring up windows explorer and treats it as a data cd. Using Region Killer, i ran it manually and it worked fine.
Is this behaviour normal?

p.s. Also, in "My Computer" the drive now reads simply as "CD Unit", rather than "DVD Unit".

[joegib]

These symptoms are fairly common. Sometimes Windows gets confused after a drive is flashed — maybe this puts the Registry out of sync in some way. Anyway, one technique that can cure it is to open Device Manager --> IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers -- and uninstall the controller on which the drive is located (usually the Secondary controller). It doesn't hurt to uninstall the DVD/CDROM device as well. Then reboot and let Windows redetect the drive.

Hopefully, that'll solve the problem. If not, it may be necessary to reinstall XP (bitter pill) but I'm pretty sure this is a Windows configuration issue, not a problem with the firmware.

[Axemaster]

Success!

thanks joegib, that worked like a dream.

Thanks very much for all your help,

-Happy Owner of a Region-Free Drive.